Doyle speedmarches to countryside records

Starting out from Henley-in-Arden, Doyle waded through waterlogged fields and knee-deep muddy footpaths over the Arden Challenge Walk and Heart of England Way footpaths to set five cross-country records.

Carrying a 120lb backpack, the former paratrooper and amateur boxer speedmarched 1k over a challenging route in an official time of 8min 21.39 sec.

The iron man of endurance then went onto set a one-mile record of 20min 12.09sec.

After a short break assisted by his support team and time keepers, he then speedmarched 10k in a new official time of 2hr 18.45 secs, beating the previous Guinness world record by almost four minutes.

The next challenge was the Guinness record for the fastest cross-country half-marathon, which he smashed by 4min 48sec, coming home in 4hr 13 min 12.16 secs.

He then went on to cover 16 miles in 5hr 44min 2sec to take his total of career strength, speed and stamina records to 320.

Doyle, now intends to take a break from record-chasing, saying: “The course was especially tough due to the recent heavy rain.

“The footpaths were in terrible condition - at some points I was ankle-deep in mud and the backpack was making me slip a lot.

“However, my team support were incredible, pushing me all the way to the finish line.

“I intend to have a long rest and recharge my batteries as these challenges definitely pushed me mentally and physically.”